A Pieced Flannel Han Juban: Silk and Cotton

ca. mid twentieth century
27" x 43", 109 cm x 68.5 cm

Flannel, or neru as it is called in Japan (a contraction of the word furaneru or flannel, as the Japanese have borrowed it), is an imported cloth which became available in Japan sometime in the late nineteenth century.  This han juban, or half-under kimono is hand stitched from commercially produced neru or a cotton flannel of a mid-warm brown plaid pattern.

Unlike most Japanese garments that have a center seam running up the back of the jacket, this one does not have this detail; the cloth used to hand stitch this han juban is wider than the hand loomed cloth native to Japan, so the back of the garment was not pieced.

Pay special attention to the collar, which is fashioned from a silk, shibori dyed obiage, a kimono accessory used to hold the obi knot in place, but in this case, it is repurposed and is the collar of the han juban, which, over time, can be removed or changed out.  The sleeves of the han juban are piece from two differently patterned commercially produced silk textiles, the color and design effect being a lovely, graphic one.

A bit of fraying to the seams under the sleeves, but other than that, and a few original repairs, this garment is still very wearable.

Lovely.